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Easiest, quickest way to go from FCO to Venezia Sta Lucia Stazione

Posted by (Prescott, Arizona) on

Booked My Way Italy 9/20. Unable to arrive 1 day earlier, so from US to FCO my ETA on 9/20 is 9:45am. Headed for Venezia, hoping to arrive in time for initial group meeting at 5pm. RS office recommends flying to Venice, but I don't want to chance a hold-up after baggage claim, passport clearance, then deal w/terminal change, check-in, gate search--all while jet-lagged. Moreover, flights to Venezia on that day are too close to my arrival, or they don't allow enough time to get from VCE airport to Hotel near San Marco Sq.

Therefore, would like to catch a train. I usually take the Leonardo to Roma Termini, then switch to a Freccia for my next destination. I'm told a Freccia to Venezia takes approx. 3.5 hours. I'd like to take a train no later than noon, arriving in time to rest at the hotel before meeting tour group. Is there a train service directly from FCO to Venezia? Or, a train from FCO that connects with a train to Venezia?

Posted by
21153 posts

There is a direct train at 11:08, arriving Venezia S. Lucia at 15:35. Might be difficult to make unless you do the Rick-Steves-pack-light and bring all your luggage as carry-on. Otherwise, get the first available Leonardo Express train to Termini (every 15 minutes, costs 14 EUR) and take the next train to Venice. They go at 50 past the hour and take 3 hours and 45 minutes. That one is 84 EUR 2nd class. Buy both tickets at the airport train station.

Posted by
86 posts

Thinking about Italian trains-I'd be prepared for them to be late. Every time I have taken this specific route (which is probably 5 or 6 times) it has been late. Specifically they get more and more delayed the later you depart in the day-from my experiences (and maybe my train luck is just bad).

Also, make sure you factor in time to get to your meeting place from Venice train station. If you've never been to Venice before this can be a shock for some. Going from the train station to, say, St Marks can take 30-60 minutes on a Vaporetto. Just be prepared for a backlog of tourists buying vaporetto tickets there too. Outside at that vaporetto stop it's usually a big mess-lots of tourists with luggage, it's hot and humid, and no one knows what to do (because they are tourists).

I'd say it should work out fine- logistically it makes sense-and it seems like it is the better option vs. Flying.

Posted by
7209 posts

You should NEVER assume that your flight will arrive on time. You shouldn't even assume it's going to arrive on the DAY that you expect. There are way too many delays and way too few flights to just "assume" everything is going to work as planned.

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